The Most Dangerous Words in ServiceNow: "We've Always Done It This Way"

[Abhijeet Upadh2]

In architecture workshops, there is one phrase that consistently signals hidden complexity:

"We've always done it this way."

This statement often appears during process reviews, integration discussions, or design workshops. While it may sound harmless, it can prevent organisations from realising the true value of ServiceNow.

Over time, enterprises accumulate processes designed around old technologies, outdated organisational structures, and historical constraints. Teams become accustomed to those processes and assume they are permanent requirements.

The challenge for architects is distinguishing genuine business needs from inherited operational habits.

For example, a customer may have six approval levels because their previous system could not support delegation. Another may insist on manual categorisation because their legacy platform lacked automation capabilities.

Modern ServiceNow capabilities such as Flow Designer, AI-powered classification, Virtual Agent, and Now Assist can often eliminate these constraints entirely.

The goal of architecture is not to replicate the past in a new platform. The goal is to enable better business outcomes.

Architects who simply recreate existing processes risk building expensive versions of yesterday's problems.

Whenever I hear "We've always done it this way," I view it as an invitation to explore whether there is a better way.

Often, that conversation uncovers the largest opportunities for improvement.